Monday, May 06, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Lutheran Confessions

This was sent out on Friday, May 3rd, and continued a Friday series on the Augsburg Confession.

Article II (Original Sin)

1 Our
churches teach that since the fall of Adam [Romans 5:12], all who are naturally
born are born with sin [Psalm 51:5], that is, without the fear of God, without
trust in God, and with the inclination to sin, called concupiscence. 2
Concupiscence is a disease and original vice that is truly sin. It damns and
brings eternal death on those who are not born anew through Baptism and the
Holy Spirit [John 3:5].

3 Our
churches condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is
sin, thus obscuring the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits. Pelagians argue
that a person can be justified before God by his own strength and reason (Concordia:
The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House, 2005, S. 31).

Note:

Sin is much more than thinking, saying, and doing things
that are wrong. It is a terminal disease. We are all conceived and born in sin;
we inherit it from our first parents, Adam and Eve. The disease of sin can be
overcome, but only by one medicine: the cleansing, healing, and forgiving blood
of God’s own Son. By rejecting Pelagian errors in Article II, the Augsburg
Confession subtly refers to the Roman view of sin. The Roman Church taught and
still teaches that concupiscence (the inborn inclination to sin) is not
actually sin. By misdiagnosing our fatal illness, Rome leads people to believe
they are able to cooperate with God’s grace for salvation. Lutheranism rejects
all teachings that imply we are responsible for or contribute to our salvation.
(See also Ap II; SA
III, I; FC Ep I and SD
I.)(Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul
Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 31).

Prayer

Keep us, O Lord, in the true faith. Send Your Holy Spirit to
use Your Word to create, sustain, and strengthen faith in the hearts of Your
people. Amen.